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EXCLUSIVE: My scoop today comes with a big TOLDJA! Back on January 11th, I reported that three top producers including Michael Bay and his Platinum Dunes were circling Taylor Lautner to star in their movies for 2012 and beyond. Now Bay’s aggressive courting of tay-tay has paid off, and last night the two filmmakers sent out a script for auction to all the major studios. 
I’ve learned that already this morning studios have begun bidding on a Bay-Lautner project. Like them or not, they’re individually successfully. But the duo didn’t do a dog-and-pony show to accompany the presentation as so many producers, directors, and stars are these days. Still, both Bay and Lautner (who’s on a brief break from shooting Breaking Dawn Part 2) are in town and available if any of the majors want a face-to-face. Bay and Lautner are not discussing the script’s story, but insiders tell me “it’s Mr & Mrs. Smith meets Wanted”. WME reps Lautner and Bay, while CAA reps the screenwriter Jason Hall who was handpicked by the duo.
Lautner continues very much in demand because of his enormous Twi-hard fan base and aggressive promotion of his films, and not because of any solo box office which the 19-year-old action star has done yet. (Lionsgate releases his thriller Abduction on September 23rd.) Tay-Tay started off 2011 by producing and starring in two new studio tentpoles, Incarceron at Fox 2000, and the Untitled Spy Project at New Regency, for 8-digit paychecks each. Not only was the 8-pack-abs teen heartthrob last year’s highest paid teenage actor (for a reported $7.5 million pay day in Universal’s Stretch Armstrong with Hasbro and Imagine) but he also just reached #9 on Vanity Fair‘s highest paid adult list, too. Taylor is scheduled to finish shooting the Twilight Saga’s Breaking Dawn this spring, and Fox 2000 and New Regency grabbed his two available slots for 2011. So Bay moved quickly to make a movie with Taylor’s limited availability for 2012. In addition to Transformers 3 with DreamWorks and Paramount, Bay’s Platinum Dunes produced I Am Number 4 with DreamWorks that opens this Friday for Disney.
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
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ladies and Gentlemen … I give you
There’a a combination from Hollywood Hell.
Bay and Lautner – Two different kinds of cheese!
This kid is supersmart, a real businessman in the making. Robert Pattison take note: THIS is how you make use of your 15 minutes of superfame. Your time is almost up.
yes, a smart businessman, but is he a star? twilight was not about him, although his presence certainly did not hurt. can he carry something, anything on his own? jury is out, but my bet is NO. not real or weighty enough – a little too pretty and slick for solo mainstream success…if i had to guess.
One is an actor, the other is a product. I’ll take the actor every time.
You’re the only one. All the ‘actors’ (which is generous) movies have flopped.
I completely agree. I’ll take RP over pretty boy Lautner any day.
Eh, whether people think they’re capable of it or not, Pattinson and Stewart are clearly attempting a different career path than Lautner. Pretty sure both of them would run in the other direction from Bay. Not saying one course is better or worse than the other, they’re just different.
i really wouldnt snub my nose at what rob pattinson is doing. he is fixing to work with david cronenberg. thats nothing to laugh at.
This Lautner guy always looks like a ‘sulky kid’ to me, but then…. what do I know, I’m just a grandmother and have been dusted and put away long ago. Wouldn’t like to shake his hand though, possibly a limp one. Does anyone know whether he has taken his pout tips from Angie or not?? I mean, he does act right? He’s not just there for the look?
BLAH – they deserve each other!!
Once Tay Tay flashes that big, bright ABC Family smile, any credibility of being a tough guy is out the window.
That’s because Taylor Lautner is an action movie star, not an actor. Robert Pattinson is about to work with David Cronenberg. Sure Taylor will make more money but let’s wait and see how long and respected his career will be. He’s a nice guy tough and very aware of his limitations, the good point it’s to know how to turn that into an advantage. He does certainly.
Oh, Taylor Lautner is an action movie star? I guess I haven’t been paying attention — what exactly were the action movies that he’s starred in?
Oh right. Not a single one. Ever.
He’s a supporting player in a teen romance franchise. That’s it.
i think they meant that most of the movies he has signed up for are action movies.
A quick refresher course for those who need it: someone who has had starring roles in multiple successful action movies is an action movie star. Someone who has signed up for roles in action movies is someone who has signed up for roles in action movies.
When is this kid even supposed to make all these movies? Stretch Armstrong seems to have drifted into the periphery (yet Nikki still comments on what he’ll be paid for it) and aside from Abduction he has yet to film any of these “blockbusters.” Kid’s unproven as far as box office potential outside of “Twilight” and it’s absurd Hollywood is coughing up these kind of salaries prematurely. If/when these movies tank? Don’t blame Taylor as much as these producers with no common sense.
If they expect to capitalize on Lautner they need to strike while the iron is hot and produce these films. And they’re not doing that. I think he’s going to be a disappointment.
“It’s Mr & Mrs. Smith meets Wanted.”
Did you think about those words as you typed them?
What does that really mean?
Do Hollywood people really know how pathetically similar they are to the characters in The Player?
While we’re on the topic of THIS MEETS THAT… How about a REAL original idea for Hollywood. Once again, The Next Big Thing will take Paypal bids starting at a cool million…
The Bible meets Avatar.
Jesus leads the Na’vi to earth for the second coming. He eradicates all the bad stuff from earth, and even has to battle like ninety terminators that are sent through a time portal— but wait: dinosaurs AND Marty McFly also come through the portal. Jesus and the Na’vi tame one big dinosaur and ride it around to save the day. Maybe the dinosaur gets a laser gun on its head or something. McFly joins Jesus but will it be enough to Save The World?
As if that is not hot enough… I’m working on a sure fire hit: Bourne meets The Color Purple.
Don’t be stupid. Obviously it’s going to star Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie and Angelina Jolie. Taylor Lautner will play the James McAvoy part he’ll be the young guy who wants to become a super secret agent. Brad and Angelina will train him how to survive shootouts and curve bullets and jump across a large space between two highrise buildings and survive a train crashing off of a high bridge. You have to be able to understand these things. The movie will be titled A Michael Bay Film, Mr. and Mrs. Smith Meet America’s Most Wanted starring Brad and Angie and Taylor.
The only saving grace – by them teaming up we only have to avoid half the amount of films they would have done had they set out solo.
@jkl Robert Pattinson is obviously aiming for more dramatic roles. Taylor is more interested and suited for action flicks. It’s like comparing apples and oranges.
I’m shocked that Taylor is receiving that many offers. He is completely unproven in carrying a movie on his own. I’m very curious to see if the Twilight fan base will go see his movies…
It’s funny that you say that because Rob Pattinson’s Twilight Fan Base wasn’t actually running in the theaters to see his movies outside of the saga either. I love Rob but he’s not actually grabbing the guys/dudes with the choice of movies he’s making.
Yeah, but Pattinson’s also not aiming for $10 million paychecks, so studios aren’t taking a huge gamble on him. Remember Me was small, made a profit. He apparently only got $1.5 million for Water For Elephants, and Cosmopolis is obviously going to be a small film so I doubt he’s making much there either.
His movie made $56 million worldwide. People ran to see it.
Actually even more.
“Remember Me” is one of more profitable movies from 2010.
Nr.30. from circa 800.
Every time you write a story about “Tay Tay” i get second hand embarrassment.
I’m not a fan of Taylor’s at all but i must admit that he made very safe business decisions.
agreed, I don’t think the kid has much depth, but knows how to market himself, I’ll give him that.
to Samantha: the twifans will not follow Taylor, as they haven’t followed Pattinson&especially Stewart, outside the franchise! I too hope this kid’s movie fails, it will be really entertaining to watch!
and it’s called?
Has anybody read? plot and comments?
You’re actually suggesting a Michael Bay film has a plot?
Are any of these movies ever going to happen though? Stretch Armstrong has been on the shelf for over a year with no movement. Incarceron still doesn’t have a director, and other than leaking bogus casting rumors, it doesn’t seem to have moved since 2010 either. And now this announcement of Lautner-Bay opening bidding on a script? Why don’t his people wait for an actual shooting schedule and director before they announce these things? It’s starting to look like a lot of talk about nothing right now.
I really don’t understand all these offers for Taylor Lautner! Taylor has yet to prove himself outside of Twilight. And some of his teen following seems to have already shifted to the “next big thing” aka Alex Pettyfer. Why are studios so willing to take such a big gamble on this kid?
I don’t think many Taylor fans have shifted onto Alex Pettyfer.
haha. I was thinking the same thing. Once that #4 movie comes and goes, Pettyfer will be gone.
Does Taylor even have fans? When The Runaways was released people thought that Stewart’s fans are going to make it a success but nobody thought of the possibility that her fanbase is kind of small.
>Lautner continues very much in demand because of his enormous Twi-hard fan base<
The kid is smarter than people give him credit for. He has his own production team and knows his limitation (mindless action over drama). The more people hate on him, the longer he will last. Teaming up with Michael Bay is pure genius.
It’s mediocre Michael Bay-ing at the one-dimensional Wolf I guess… How much more tedious can Hollywood get? Please youth audience get some taste!!!
Mr & Mrs. Smith meets Wanted? How lame. His Twilight fans won’t be interested.
Hear the script rocks. User-friendly action movie. A good fit
Care to elaborate?
This is clearly another publicists piece, Tay Tay and his people are running scared that his star is fading in light of all of the new taller career threats. Seems like a nice kid, however not goodlooking beyond the body, no acting chops, here today, gone tomorrow.
What career threats?
He has announced so many movies he is going to be in and only one has been filmed so far, doesn’t sound very good to me.
How did they hand pick Jason Hall? What did they tell him to write?
Hi Jason, I’m Mr. Bay’s assistant, they’re ready for you in the game room, please follow me.
She leads him past the receptionist’s desk down a long hallway into the Bay Films game room where Michael and Taylor are playing ping pong. The room is filled with old pinball machines and video games from the 80′s.
Michael, Taylor, this is Jason Hall.
Bay and Lautner continue their ping pong game. Bay slams the ball and Lautner hits it into the net. Bay smiles and turns to Jason.
Hey Hall what we’re looking for is a big loud action movie sort of Mr. and Mrs. Smith meets Wanted, think you can write it for us?
Uh yeah sure Mr. Bay sounds like a great idea.
Good good. Any questions about it? Cause that’s all we got.
Um no I’m eager to get started on it. Is there anything else you can tell me about what you guys want me to write?
Nope that’s it just make it as similar as you can to Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Wanted. Give Taylor lots of cool action scenes and I’ll do the rest. I don’t really need a script but it makes the studio happy if I can show them something that’s been written before they give me another hundred and fifty million bucks.
All right I’m on it. Thanks guys.
He hesitates not sure if he should leave but they are back to playing ping pong so he turns and walks out.
And that’s how easy it is to get a gig with Michael Bay.
Nice essay.lol There should be like a penalty, when you don’t know what the hell people are talking about. I started out agreeing with you and ended up straching my head…HARD!?
the second i caught the headline ‘Taylor Lautner And Michael Bay Join Up’ i said to myself; “yea, no thanks. have a nice day.”
lol…
Good on him, man. I’m jealous of this guy, he’s making it in a town that I’ve been shut out of. Plus Lautner’s got longevity written all over him, regardless of his acting abilities; Arnold Schwarzenegger could barely speak English at the pinnacle of his success. It’s all about being built for each roll, and this guy is an Adonis to the little chickies fawning over him equating to massive mounds of money for financiers, production studios, and Lautner.
if we’re using Schwarzenegger as the gold standard, we’re all in big trouble.